Living Worlds: Android Blackout

TL;DR (Summary):

Chrome/WebView 76 (released July 30, 2019) had a bug that broke the Living Worlds live wallpaper feature on Android phones (it just showed black). Chrome/WebView 77 (released September 10, 2019) fixed that bug, so live wallpaper is working again.

If you’re encountering the black wallpaper issue, make sure to update your Chrome and/or WebView to version 77 or later. Let me know if you have any trouble with it!

Original Post:

Starting a couple days before the new release, people have started to experience a completely black screen for the Living Worlds live wallpaper on Android. I’m currently looking into how to fix it, though unfortunately I’m not able to reproduce it myself. As best as I can tell, it appears to be due to a recent update in the Android system (and is unrelated to the recent August release). I’ll update here as I know more!

If you want to help: I need people who can reproduce it who are set up to capture Android logs. Also, of course anyone with ideas about what may be going on! Comment here or email me at ian@pixfabrik.com.

We’ll get this sorted out… Thank you for your patience!

UPDATE, August 2:

We’re making some progress. It appears that it’s due to an update to Android’s WebView (which Living Worlds uses for its drawing). On July 30th they started rolling out version 76.0.3809.89 of Chrome and the Android WebView, and I’ve gotten confirmation from multiple people that updating to this new version of the WebView breaks the live wallpaper. Now we’re in the process of figuring out how to fix it, but at least we’ve narrowed it down!

Update, August 5:

I’m now able to reproduce the issue on my Android emulator! It’s definitely the new WebView. It doesn’t seem to allow drawing to the HTML 5 canvas (which Living Worlds relies on) when in live wallpaper mode, even though it works fine in the app. I’m reaching out to the Android developer community to see what can be done about it. If you or someone you know is an Android developer, I’d love to hear your thoughts!

Update, August 11:

I’ve filed a Chromium bug report, and the issue is being worked on! It looks possible that it’ll be fixed in Chrome/WebView 77 (currently scheduled for September 10 release). Meanwhile I’m looking into alternative fixes I can make in the app, though it remains to be seen whether any of them will work. If nothing else, we’ll be out of “the blackout” once it’s fixed in the WebView.

If your phone has already updated to Chrome or WebView 76, there is a chance it hasn’t updated both, and you can switch your WebView implementation to the other one. Some phones allow you to switch between Chrome and Android System WebView for use by apps like Living Worlds (it doesn’t affect your normal web browsing). To check this, you’ll need to turn on Developer Options and then go into their WebView Implementation panel. If you see both Chrome and Android System WebView, and if one of them isn’t on 76 yet, you can switch to that one. Be sure to turn off automatic updates so it doesn’t upgrade itself afterwards.

I’ll keep looking for additional options…

Update, September 1:

The Chrome bug fix is in the Chrome Beta, and we’ve verified that it works with the Living Worlds! It looks like it’s still on track to roll out starting September 10, so you should be able to update your Chrome and/or WebView (it depends on how you have your device set up) after that to get the fix!

If you can’t wait, you should be able to run the Chrome Beta right away:

• Install the Chrome Beta from the Google Play Store
• Turn on Developer Options by finding your phone’s build number (somewhere in Settings) and tapping it seven times (more info here)
• Then, in your Settings, go to Developer Options > WebView Implementation and choose the Chrome Beta

After the Chrome/WebView 77 final release rolls out later this month, you can use WebView Implementation to switch back to it if you want.

The end of the blackout is in sight!

Update, September 21:

Chrome/WebView 77 has been out for over a week now, so hopefully everyone’s updated to it. Glad to have this chapter behind us!

If you’re still having trouble with your live wallpaper, please let me know!